PinsandNeedles

The problem of pain There is a human tendency to avoid pain. As a child, we learn early on that pain is bad. Of course it is, right? It hurts!! It can’t therefore be good!! For example, if we touch something hot and it burns us, we get hurt. We then tend to avoid touching that hot object in future. (Usually!!) I used to love to surf. I had a bunch of friends I would surf with, and I loved being out on the ocean away from the world, watching the waves crash. I was terrible at it, but I loved it. Then one summer I was with my family and I came off my board and my head went straight into a shallow sand bank. I had excruciating pain in my back and could barely get myself out of the surf and back down the beach to my family. The pain was so bad I couldn’t stay on the beach and had to go back to where we were staying to rest. I then passed out from the pain when I went to the bathroom and ended up having to go to hospital. In the end it was simply severe muscle spasm and...

I have had this topic on my heart for sometime, but I have put off writing on it. Firstly, because it is so present with me in this current season of my life, and I fear that I may have a completely different understanding of it when I eventually reach the point where it is not so raw. Secondly, because I tell myself that I am in no way an expert on grief, nor have I suffered anything close to what others have. Even 2 nights ago I sat down to start this blog, and stopped when I saw a story and photo of a mother cradling her stillborn child in her arms. As a mother of 2 healthy little girls, I cannot begin to comprehend that grief. I also cannot comprehend the grief of those who have suffered in war torn countries, where they have seen children and family members tortured or killed; I cannot even begin to understand their suffering. However, the topic will not leave me alone and so here I am, putting my thoughts onto paper, in the hope that my grief, while different to another’s, is s...

Well, it's been a long time, and I am wearing my heart on my sleeve with this one, but here goes. "It's not fair!" Such a familiar concept isn't it? It's something we learn from a very young age! If we think our sibling might have got more than us or something we didn't get, we would say those exact words! And I know that as a parent you try very hard to keep things fair between your children. As we progress into adulthood, I think we still cling to this concept of fairness. When we see those who are weak being abused by the strong, we cry out against the unfairness of it. If someone gets special treatment, we say, "It's not fair!" Even our 'Tall Poppy Syndrome" hinges on this idea of fairness. Over the last 2 years I have grappled with this concept. I relate to King David and Jeremiah so much. I think they grappled with this too! (Jeremiah 12:1; Psalm 10) As I have walked through the most difficult time of my life, as ...